


Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy

by ChildOfTheRevolution



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fun, Humor, Jock Derek, M/M, Oblivious Stiles, One Shot, Pining, Prom, boyd and derek brotp, i love boyd, obligatory kate argent is a horrible person tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-23
Updated: 2013-07-23
Packaged: 2017-12-21 03:34:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/895300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChildOfTheRevolution/pseuds/ChildOfTheRevolution
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was Stiles’ turn to look at Scott as if he were crazy.<br/>‘Wow yeah OK I’m just going to do that and ignore the fact that Derek Hale is a) in a relationship with crazy she bitch Kate Argent, b) is straighter then a stripper pole and c) is so far above my league that he’s playing for the Mets and I’m in little league.’</p>
            </blockquote>





	Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Obligatory post teen wolf flashback episode high school AU :) Just needed to write it to get my derek hale, stiles stilinski, paige feels out of the way (don't worry no spoilers in this one).
> 
> Title ripped from Queen's classic song, check it out if you like them classics. (Plus its such a sterek song, although every song is a sterek song to me!)

It was prom. 

Ugh prom sucked, especially when you went stag, which was just another word for desperately single and hanging out on the bleachers trying not to look pathetic for the whole night to be quite honest. The only redeeming factor about the night was that Stiles’ best buddy, Scott, was going stag too. 

‘Do you think Allison’s here?’ Scott asked hopefully, wide eyes scanning the crowd of teens attempting to mosh to the weird band Coach Finstock had managed to hire for tonight’s festivities.

Stiles tried not to roll his eyes Scott, ‘Dude, her sister, Kate Argent, Queen Bitch cheerleaders here, of course Allison’s here, she probably went with a one of those football douchebags.’

Scott flinched back at Stiles’ true but admittedly harsh words. He was a bit naïve sometimes, Stiles liked to think Scott was his morality clock and Stiles was Scott’s reality check, it well worked for them. 

Sometimes at least.

True to form Scott’s next question was, ‘You really don’t think I have a chance?’ that combined with that hopeful look that made Stiles want to simultaneously punch some sense into Scott and wrap him in a bear hug whispering ‘too precious for this world’ in his ear, so, yeah, pretty lethal.

Stiles sighed his will crumbling in the face of overwhelming puppy eyes, ‘I dunno dude, have you even talked to her? At least once?’

Scot wrinkled his brow in thought, then with triumph, ‘Yeah! I lent her a pen the other day and she smiled at me.’

‘But were actual words exchanged, in an attempt at conversation? Because if not, that doesn’t count as talking.’

‘She said “thanks”.’ Scott said, ‘Plus, no fair, you always moon over Lydia Martin like she’s the best thing on the face of the earth.’

‘That’s different, I don’t ‘moon’, I admire her genius and our healthy competition for valedictorian. Nothing more.’

Scott snorted and rolled his eyes, ‘She made you cry in preschool once Stiles.’

‘And what have we said on that topic Scott? That we were never going to mention it, like ever, because if you did I got to bring up the time recounted your mums sex talk , word for word, to a class of very traumatised fifth graders after you caught the animals at the clinic mating and she had to give you the sex talk.’

Scott promptly turned pink as Stiles couldn’t help grinning, it hadn’t been that bad, admittedly Mrs McCall had been phoned in to give Beacon Hill elementary/middle schools all their puberty talks for then on as Scott’s teacher had been very impressed with his accurate recount of the female menstrual cycle, and the ‘changes’ one goes through when they enter puberty. 

‘Whatever, it’s just that I’m sick of it.’

Stiles turned at Scott’s tone, Scott was usually all sunshine and puppies, he rarely expressed negative emotion, like ever. 

‘Sick of this dance? Sick of the punch?’ Stiles asked, knowing he was deliberately trying to lighten Scott’s mood.

‘Nah man, sick of being invisible, sick of having asthma and only bench warming in lacrosse. Sick of going “stag” to every damn dance this stupid school has.’

‘Dude, if you’re sick of it, why don’t you do something about it. See,’ Stiles said, spying the admittedly stunning Allison getting punch, alone, ‘there’s Allison over there, minus that douchebag Aiden, now’s your chance Scott. Go talk to her about pen borrowing related things, quit being invisible.’

Scott looked queasy for a moment, eyeing Allison like an un-exploded bomb. Admittedly a very attractive unexploded bomb dressed in green silk, make all the other bombs go ‘BOOM BOOM BOOM’, but a bomb none the same. 

Then she laughed and Scott straightened his shoulders, a determined stubborn glint in his eye and started striding past the dance floor.

‘You go buddy! Get the girl!’ Stiles yelled out after him, grinning in pride, was that his buddy Scott or was that his buddy Scott.

Stiles was happy for his friend, Scott was pretty awesome and Allison would be lucky to have someone like him, anyone would be better than that bully Aiden and his stupid square jaw and his stupid twin brother that Stiles could never tell the difference between.

Except now that Scott had trotted off after the holy grail that was Allison Argent, Stiles was by himself, he didn’t mind so much. He liked people watching, it was fascinating what you learned about people if you just watched and there was no better place for it then the usually drama filled, animal attack plagued Beacon Hills High Prom. 

Stiles quickly spied, on the edge of the dance floor a little way along from him, Erica Reyes, blonde, kind of scary but nice enough, dressed in a tight black dress, her friends twittering around her. 

Usually the life of the group Stiles was surprised to discover that Erica was awfully quiet, almost unsettled or nervous as she was constantly scanning the crowd, her kohl rimmed eyes searching, for someone? Stiles followed her eye movements with his own until he noticed they widened slightly and she minutely smiled. Stiles followed where she was looking and almost choked when he noticed her gaze on Vernon Boyd?

Boyd, strong silent football team quarterback Boyd? Stiles was usually pretty leery of the jockish types, he had he fair share of beat downs from the likes of them and his smart mouth but Boyd was…different. Like an old soul, he didn’t say much but what he did say was funny, dry and usually sarcastic. And apparently bad girl, scary biker chick Erica had a little crush. 

Well, well, well. The things you learn.

Stiles switched his gaze from Erica’s subtle pining toward a couple arguing near the bleachers to his left. 

Ah yes, the golden twosome. Beacons Fields answer to Brad and Angelina or Posh and Becks, introducing before mentioned Queen Bee Kate Argent and King of the Lacrosse team as well as captain of the basketball team and School captain, Derek Hale. 

Both beautiful, both rich and both atop of Beacons Field High’s social ladder.

Stiles got it, beautiful people herd together. Admittedly he didn’t know much about Derek Hale but he knew plenty about Kate Argent. It was funny Stiles was usually pretty invisible at school, his smart mouth and his high grades the only thing that really distinguished him from the average student and despite those he still remained somewhat of a wallflower, but for some reason Queen Kate had hand picked him from the start of the year and had decided to hate him, for no apparent reason. 

Like a lot. Not just the usual disdain popular people held for those peasants beneath them but really didn’t like him at all. To be completely honest, he and Scott had been the ones to t-pee her house during the summer when they had been drunk. Somehow Kate had found out it was him presumably and had decided to hate on him (and only him) ever since. 

There were glares, there were shoves (and don’t tell him girls are weak, those Argents are strong) and unpleasant smiles (read; glares) glanced in his direction. Stiles didn’t really care that much, in fact he found it kind of hilarious that he seemed to be such a thorn in untouchable Queen Bee Kate’s side. In fact he and Scott had their own text code for whenever Kate did something ludicrously hilarious to him. 

Scott never seemed to find it as funny as Stiles, ‘It’s bullying Stiles, you should let someone know.’ 7

‘Yeah right Scott’ Stiles would answer back because it was bullying but the only person it seemed to bother was Kate herself so he let it happen, if he can inadvertently sour Kate’s day for simply existing then what the hell, he’ll do it. She was a pretty horrible person all things considered. Plus he didn’t want her blabbing it to his dad that it was him and Scott that had pranked her, his dad had enough on his plate without finding out his son’s a teenage delinquent (or more of a teenage delinquent in Stiles’ case, because what can he say, he liked knowing what was happening in his town).

Kate, however, hadn’t seemed to have noticed him at the dance so far and Stiles takes it as his chance to eavesdrop on hers and Derek’s conversation. 

Yeah he was a nosy little bitch.

‘…the hell Derek, tonight was supposed to be our night.’ Kate’s voice had turned shrill in annoyance.

‘It is our night, I don’t know why you’re so upset.’ Derek answered through gritted teeth.

‘Jesus Derek, you always ruin this for me, first it was your stupid family and their taking pictures so we were late and now you’re not even paying attention to me.’ 

Stiles sucks in a breath and winces, criticising family is never a good move, Derek doesn’t seem to think so either, judging from his response.

‘Kate, it’s my family and if they want to take pictures I’m going to let them take their god damn pictures. And what the hell are you talking about? I haven’t left your side all night.’ Derek answers back in a firm tone and Stiles has to admire his restraint, Stiles would have not have been so calm if he had been in Derek’s place. But then he wasn’t the one in love with Kate Argent for god’s sake so Derek doesn’t get that many points.

‘Don’t try and bullshit me Derek, I know you’ve been checking someone else out all night and it hasn’t been me.’ She fumes back.

Derek looks confused, ‘Are you saying that I’m cheating?’ he asks, a little nonplussed. 

Hmmm so Kate’s insecure in her relationship Stiles surmised, tucking away that information for later, he’d take her bullying but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to get his own back, in some way. 

‘Are you denying you haven’t been?’ Kate almost yells back.

‘I’m completely denying it. What the hell Kate?’ Derek says back, his voice hushed as he looks from side to side to see if anyone’s noticed their little tiff. 

Unfortunately he catches Stiles staring at them. 

Stiles quickly looks away but the damage is already done, almost doubly so when he hears Kate screech out, ‘See! I saw that, we’re in the midst of a discussion and you’re not even paying attention to me!’

‘Kate you’re being completely unreasonable, I’m not allowed to look at other people now?’ Derek asks, exasperated and a touch angry. 

Stiles understands, possessiveness never looked good on anyone. 

‘Yes you are, just not him!’ she yells and Stiles gapes when he sees her pointing at him.

Derek looks at Stiles surprised and Stiles stares back, mouth open wide enough to catch flies, because what the hell? Kate Argent had really, clinically gone off her rocker.

Almost to confirm his point Kate sees the two looking at each other, glares and hisses, ‘Fine, talk to your little boy toy, I don’t care. I’m leaving.’ And with that she huffs off, leaving Stiles and Derek watching her leave.

Stiles’ stomach drops as waits for the inevitable punch or shove from Derek but is surprised when Derek seems to be stuck on the spot for a moment before plopping down into the chair next to him, letting out a little sigh as he scrubs a hand through his hair and loosens his tie, takes it off and puts it in his pocket. Ooookay, so apparently Derek didn’t feel the need to assert his masculinity through the ritual bullying of the kind of lanky, dorky kid. 

Good to know. 

Stiles fiddles a bit with his own tie for a minute, not sure what to say, finally he comes up with, ‘I don’t care what she says, I’m nobodies boy toy.’ Then cringes the minute the words leave his mouth, because really Stiles? Really?

‘I mean uh-‘ Stiles continues flailing a little but stops when he spies Derek’s semi bashful grin, ‘That’s uh not what I uh meant, I mean if I was I’m not uh obviously not yours, not that you swing that…ok I’m going to shut up now.’ He finishes, lamely.

He spies Derek looking at him a little incredulously before he shakes his head, ruefully, ‘I’m sorry about all of that back there. Kate is a little…’ he trails off and Stiles fills in for him.

‘Psychotic?’ and Stiles wishes he can gobble the word back into his mouth after he says them because you don’t go calling your lacrosse captain girlfriend psychotic, even if she is. 

That’s just a thing that people don’t do.

Derek seems to agree, looking at Stiles, stunned for a moment before his mouth curls into the smallest of smiles, ‘No, not completely uh psychotic, just possessive and kind of jealous.’

Stiles nods vigorously glad to have gotten away with the psychotic remark, ‘Sheesh I know, like I don’t even know you? And she’s inferring shenanigans on our part and you don’t even know my na-‘

‘Stiles Stilinski.’ Derek interrupts in a quiet voice, then immediately half glares at the floor all the while looking like he regrets speaking. Stiles wants to laugh, seeing that look on King Derek face is funny because that’s how Stiles kind of feels constantly

Stiles is also a little flabbergasted, people don’t remember him, they remember his smart mouth and his eighth grade science experiment that got him banned from using the Bunsen burners for a year, but they don’t remember his name. 

Not least Captain Derek himself.

‘Woah, dude, that’s freaky. How do you even know my name?’

Derek tries to fidget with his tie then stops when he realises he had already taken it off and he frowns out at the dance floor, grunting out ‘You play in my lacrosse team, of course I know your name.’

‘Um dude, I’m pretty sure coach Finstock doesn’t even know my name, he keeps calling me Bilinski, although sometime I’m thankful that he doesn’t know my real name, he knows Greenburg’s and that guys always getting picked on.’ Stiles says trying to casually glance over at Derek because one doesn’t get the chance to chat to their social betters on relatively equal terms every day. Plus Derek’s nice to look at and Stiles can certainly admire that in spite of Derek’s obviously horrible taste in women.

Derek looks like he wants to laugh, again, but shuts it off and Stiles is kind of disappointed, he could probably count on his hand the amount of times his heard Derek laugh. Not that he really takes notice. At all.  
Seriously though, before tonight Derek Hale hadn’t really been on his radar.

‘No date?’ Derek inquires taking in Stiles suit and screwed up tie. 

‘Nah man, going stag tonight. Just being my plain old bachelor self’ Stiles answers trying to smile winningly, ignoring Derek’s hideously awkward attempt at a subject change. 

‘Where’s that friend you’re always with. Stan? Steven?’

‘Scott? Scott went stag too, but he’s either off somewhere with the lovely Allison or off getting his ass kicked by Douchebag Aiden. Sorry if he’s your friend dude, but he’s king of the douchebags.’

Derek scans the crowd and looks back at Stiles as he frowns, ‘I don’t like Aiden either.’

‘Dude I know right? I mean we probably hate him for different reasons but I swear that guys the reason for my cracked rib in lacrosse training last year, not to mention my sprained wrist, you how hard it was for me not to jer-‘ Stiles suddenly remembers he’s not talking to Scott and winces slightly, probably not good manners to talk to a relative stranger about alone private man time with your right hand.

To Stiles’ surprise Derek’s ears have reddened but he’s got a slight grin on his face, ‘That would have sucked. But we suspended him from games for two weeks after that, you remember?’

Huh, Stiles was surprised, he’d just thought Aiden had been caught with alcohol at school again, he didn’t realise the ban had been imposed because of him.

‘Damn, I didn’t know coach had it in him to side one of our best players for a stupid scuffle.’ Stiles says with a self-deprecating laugh. 

Derek looks at him blankly and says in a carefully neutral voice, ‘It wasn’t stupid and it wasn’t his decision. It was mine.’

Oh, well Stiles doesn’t really know what to say to that, ‘Huh.’

They lapse into silence again, but it’s more comfortable this time. 

But something’s nagging at the back of Stiles’ mind though, something not quite right, he lets it go.

It’s horribly easy to talk to Derek, surprisingly so and Stiles can’t help but notice how nicely Derek’s suit fits him, or how broad he is across the shoulder. He’s not blind, he did know all this things before, could catalogue Derek’s sharply defined profile, his constant shadow of stubble, his strong jaw and chest. But it didn’t really mean anything before, because up close Stiles could see that his eyes were incredibly light and reflective and scrunched up when he was trying not to laugh, or the two front bunny teeth he never noticed or how huge Derek’s hands actually were. It actually kind of made him uncomfortable. People like Derek were always meant to be out of reach, like a statue, nice to look at but completely cut off, on a pedestal. 

And here Derek was sitting blushing at Stiles joking about jerking off and talking about how much of a jerk Aiden was and he seemed, human, like someone Stiles could actually interact with. 

Frankly it was weirding him out. Derek Hale, despite having the worst possible taste in significant others (but it was high school so Stiles wasn’t going to judge too harshly), was actually pretty ok. He didn’t make fun of Stiles’ nervous verbal twitches nor the fact that he hadn’t played a single lacrosse match. He was actually nice? He certainly wasn’t not nice, or a douchebag Stiles was suspecting. It was Stiles own fault for lumping Derek in with the rest of the jocks.

Stiles decided, like any good scientist, to test out his theory that Derek was nice.

‘See Erica over there.’ He says, nudging Derek’s impossibly muscly bicep.

Derek jumps a little at the contact but dutifully spies Erica in the crowd and nods.

‘Well you’ll never guess who she has a crush on!’ Stiles ask triumphantly.

Derek side eyes him with a blank face, and is that dismay? 

‘It’s not you is it?’

Stiles has to laugh at that, because seriously? Erica didn’t go for guys like Stiles, she went for tattooed, leather jacket wearing, motorbike riding gang members. Or, you know, quiet and studly quaterbacks like Boyd.

‘No! As if! She likes Boyd. She’s been eyeing him all night.’

Derek’s eye widen in surprise, ‘Are you sure?’

‘Never been so sure about something my entire life’ Stiles answers him with a smug grin because if it’s reading people, Stiles is the best. He knows who likes who and who has a hopeless crush on who. He’s talented like that, no crushes get past him. 

None at all. 

Derek looks back at him smiling slightly like he’s about to tell him a secret, ‘Because Boyd likes her too. He told me the other day.’

Stiles gapes at him, ‘You’re friends with Boyd?’ he asks in disbelief. 

Beautiful people herd together he says in his head, he shouldn’t be surprised. 

‘He’s basically my best friend Stiles.’ Derek says rolling his eyes.

Stiles can’t help but like the way Derek says his name, like it’s something special. 

‘It’s just I figured you lacrosse guys didn’t hand out with the football jocks is all.’ Stiles says, a little pathetically.

‘Jocks are jocks, they’ll hang out as long as they all do sports and like cheerleaders.’ Derek says bitterly.

Stiles whips his head to look back at Derek, and Derek’s looking at the dance floor as if it slept with his sister (Stiles casually notes to never sleep with Derek Hale’s sisters) that is; he looks pretty pissed.

‘Are you ok? I mean is that ok? I always thought you guys had a charmed life you know? Good looking, rich, popular, talented.’

Derek looks up and Stiles is a little blinded by the shy smile on Derek’s face (damn you cute bunny rabbit front teeth), ‘You think I’m good looking?’ he asks quietly, almost as if he’s talking to himself. 

Stiles snorts, ‘Out of all of what I said that’s all you got out of it? Well I suppose you are in that generic handsome sort of way.’ 

Derek’s shutters come down and his previous light hearted (flirty?) expression replaced with a blank mask, one he quickly covers by scanning the crowd spying Kate giggling at the punch bowl. He stands up suddenly, seemingly made up his mind about something.  
‘Uh well thanks for the chat, I better go find Kate before she gets herself too drunk from Jackson’s hip flask.’

Stiles blinks at him, what did he say? ‘Uh sure? I mean that’s probably a good idea you know. She seemed kind of upset.’

Derek snorts, still not catching Stiles’ eyes and stalks off.

Stiles watches him go, slightly puzzled and just a little bit disappointed. 

Stiles had lied though, he figured guys like Derek didn’t need their egos inflated by dorky underlings like Stiles describing how handsome he actually found them, crinkly eyes and bunny teeth included. 

In fact what made Derek even more attractive was how easy he was to talk to, especially for a guy like Stiles whose caustic, sarcastic attitude was too much for almost everyone he met. Derek had not only tolerated it but enjoyed it? It was hard to tell. Stiles tries not to examine the slight emptiness he feels now Derek’s no longer sitting next to him, he had a comforting bulk and a nice smile. Miles away from what Stiles had been expecting from his lacrosse captain. 

His attention is suddenly caught again by Scott, slightly bloodied nose dancing happily with Allison Argent in the middle of the dance floor. 

‘Yiew Buddy!!’ he yells to Scott who whirls around and gives him a dazed thumbs up. 

Allison, too, gives him a shy smile, and if that’s not a pretty awesome woman then Stiles doesn’t know who is as he mouths ‘He’s a good guy’ to her when Scott’s backs turned. She blushes slightly and gives him a nod to say ‘I know.’

Stiles sits back satisfied with that and slightly excited about the bloody nose story he’ll no doubt hear about a thousand times tomorrow. 

He idly watches as Lydia catches Jackson with his hip flask, Jackson’s face thunderous as Lydia looks as if she’s telling him off. Stiles smiles, Lydia was practically him except with better hair and a much nicer figure, he could definitely admire her but her personality grated on him just as much as his did to other people, didn’t stop him from having a slight crush however. 

****

‘Dude, it was awesome! I was seriously getting whaled on by Aiden and then Derek comes out of, like, nowhere and takes him down in one punch. It was the best thing in the world! And then guess what he does?’ Scott asks excitedly as they make their way toward their English class.

Stiles having heard this story a million times already inwardly sighs, takes a look at Scott’s two blackened eyes and forces a smile on his face, ‘What does Derek do?’

‘He makes Aiden go home and helps me up, and he called me Scott! I didn’t think he knew my name, I know he knows yours, but mine? Dude, it was awesome.’ Scott says smiling.

Stiles chest constricts a little, because Derek had known his name before last night. He had suspended Aiden because Aiden had hurt him, Stiles Stilinski. And now every time Stiles had seen him this morning Derek had broken eye contact. 

Stiles got it, he did, he knew how it worked. It was ok if Derek wanted to talk to him but if he wanted to talk to Derek? He wasn’t stupid but he hated himself for getting a little bit attached. But Derek had known his name and had been nice and completely shattered almost all of Stiles’ preconceived notions about him. Pfft it wasn’t Stiles fault that all his interactions with jocks like Aiden and Jackson had been kind of negative.

But it was wrong for Stiles to judge a book by its, admittedly very attractive, cover. Was it though? Now Derek didn’t seem to want anything to do with him, so maybe he was a jackass after all.

Scott waved his arms in front of Stiles a little, ‘Stiles? Are you even listening to me?’

Stiles snapped out of his own head, it was depressing him, ‘Uh yes? Derek knew your name?’

Scott rolled his eyes, ‘No I said I saw him talking to you at the dance.’

Stiles grimaced, slumping his shoulders a little, ‘Oh, yeah. He was.’

Scott looked at him and then gasped, ‘Oh my god.’

Stiles jumped a little, ‘What? What??’

‘You have your, that’s your. YOU HAVE LYDIA MARTIN FACE’

Stiles turned red as the whole corridor, including before mentioned Lydia Martin, turned to stare at the two of them.

Stiles grasped a gaping Scott and pushed him into an empty classroom because Scott maybe immune to embarrassment but poor old Stiles Stilinski wasn’t. 

‘Dude what the hell was that? And what the hell is Lydia Martin face?’

Scott looked a little stricken at what he had done but was still slightly gaping in Stiles general vicinity, ‘Uh it’s the face you used to make when you talked about Lydia Martin.’

Dread curled low in Stiles’ stomach, nothing good ever came from a discussion about Lydia Martin ‘My what?’

‘It’s this half frustrated, half pining, half dopey smile grimace that you used to get when you spoke about her. And now you have it, talking about Derek.’

It was Stiles turn to gape, what the? ‘No, absolutely not. Nope. No way in a million years. I do not have Lydia martin face for Derek freaking King Hale.’

Scott looked at him a little sadly, ‘You kind of do.’ he half whispered.

Stiles groaned struggling to accept what Scott was saying. It was hard enough having a crush on someone as unattainable as Lydia Martin whom he had put on a pedestal but it was something else to have a crush on someone just as unattainable but incredibly more real. Because where Stiles had liked Lydia for intelligence, her wit and her beauty (things he could admire from afar) apparently Stiles liked Derek for his half smile, his surprising kindness and his integrity?

Oh god this was bad, Stiles never liked people with or for their integrity. 

He was slowly turning into Scott. That was never good.

Stiles looked up at his best friend, and wanted to laugh, he felt like he was being over dramatic but he wasn’t, he really wasn’t. He was a Stilinski and as his dad always told him, Stilinski men fall and they fall hard and Stiles didn’t relish spending the rest of his school life pining from afar. Not that he wasn’t good at it (Lydia Martin anyone?) it was just that it was exhausting, emotionally and mentally.

‘What do I do?’ Stiles whispered looking back at Scott his face probably white as a sheet.

Scott looked at him as if he were crazy, ‘Um well you should talk to him. Ask him out.’

It was Stiles’ turn to look at Scott as if he were crazy, ‘Wow yeah ok I’m just going to do that and ignore the fact that Derek Hale is a) in a relationship with crazy she bitch Kate Argent, b) is straighter then a stripper pole and c) is so far above my league that he’s playing for the Mets and I’m in little league.’

Scott looked at Stiles curiously, ‘Dude didn’t you know? It’s been all over the school, Kate and Derek broke up the night of the dance.’

‘What? Oh well I suppose that was inevitable. She’s a bitch and he’s not, I suppose.’

‘And dude everyone knows Derek went out with Danny when they were both freshmen. So he’s no “straighter then a stripper pole” then you are.’ Scott says patiently waiting for Stiles to digest that little nugget of information.

Ok so Stiles didn’t know that either. Good for Derek. Bisexuals have more fun, he should have it on a t-shirt. Stiles just nods jerkily because Derek and Danny? That makes sense, both jockish, both hotter than the sun and both nice.

‘And you know the rest, the rest about Derek and you. So you should finally get o-‘

‘The rest? What’s the rest?’ Stiles interrupts, because something is not right here. Scott is being way to blasé about him and Derek. As if it’s a done deal. Because it so totally is not.

‘Uh know you dude. The rest. The fact that Derek has had the biggest crush on you since we joined the lacrosse team.’

What?

The?

Fuck?

Stiles feels the blood draining from his face, it’s like the opposite of a blush. Like his body doesn’t know what the appropriate blood levels need to be anywhere in his body which leaves his lightly flushed.  
Great. He is a man, manly men like him don’t get flushed. Being flushed is for women over a certain age during menopause.

Stiles tries not to follow his brain on its current tangent. Information like what Scott has just dropped on him needs to be processed. 

Somehow.

Stiles’ vocal chords, unsure of what to do let out a high pitched wheeze. Because he is a man and that is what men do, now. 

Apparently.

‘Dude? You ok?’ Scott asks anxiously, his voice seemingly coming from far away and Stiles notices that he hasn’t taken a breath for about 30 seconds. So he does that and sucks in a lungful.

‘What the? I can’t… what are you even? Derek Hale. Me? How?’

Scott disregards Stiles half sentences, ‘Uh yeah dude, he hasn’t exactly been subtle about it either. I thought you knew? We all thought you knew?’

‘Jesus Christ Scott! This is crazy. Derek Hale cannot have a crush on me. At all. That’s just, that’s like not even real life. At all. He doesn’t even, that’s not even possible, why are you so sure about this?’ He finishes weakly.

Scott’s now eyeing him is surprise, ‘Ah dude he knows your name for starters. He doesn’t even know the twins last names and he’s supposed to be their friends. And he always stares at you creepily in training. And he suspended Aiden when he broke your ribs and fractured your wrist. And he was like really intensely angry about it as well when you were taken away by the ambulance, like he wanted Aiden expelled. And dude ,that was why Kate hates you so much. Even though he was supposed to be going out with her he was totally crushing on you. And she completely knew.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me any of this?’ Stiles cried looking at his friend in betrayal.

‘Dude because I thought you knew, I swear. Because you always know who has crushes on who before they do. I just thought you weren’t interested and didn’t want to talk about it. I just thought you like taunting Kate about it.’

Stiles controlled his breathing trying to get to grips with his entire world realigning into a completely different shape. So Derek Hale, king of Beacon Hills High school, school captain and lacrosse team captain has the hots for him, Stiles Stilinski, grade A spastic, with a big mouth and above average grades. 

What the actual fuck.

And maybe Kate wasn’t a crazy bitch, maybe she was just a horrible person. Wonderful.

Scott looks at him concerned, ‘So what are you going to do?’

Stiles straightens up, takes a deep breath and smiles shakily, ‘I’m going to be a man about this.’

Scott smiles at him and claps him on the shoulder, ‘Good for you buddy. Got get him.’

Stiles smiles at his friend but fails to tell him that his version of manly and Scott’s version are two very different things.

Stiles version includes trying to catch Derek looking at him, which he apparently does a surprisingly large amount that Stiles kind of feels like an idiot for not noticing it more. Because boy is it not subtle, like at all. Like not even glances or side eyes, it’s like full on half glare half stare from across the lacrosse field or Derek eyes following him up the school corridor. And Stiles can swear he can feel a hole being burned into the back of his head in History. 

And Stiles, well Stiles being the adorable asshole he is revels in it. Just a little. He may give Derek a smirk every time he catches him looking, or a wave; anything to make Derek look like he’s swallowed a spider.

Because Stiles is an asshole who apparently liked to torture people.

He can’t help himself, because stuff like this? This doesn’t happen to him, like ever, period. This is like a bad (GREAT) eighties high school movie where the jock actually likes the nerdy slightly spastic mouthy kid. This is like Sixteen Candles or the Breakfast Club and it’s fucking awesome.

And it kind of makes Stiles fall a little bit in love with Derek because apparently moody, creeper jocks do it for him now. 

Derek notices the change as well because he blushes when he catches Stiles’ eye and gets flustered every time he has to come near him so much so that Scott’s groans every time Stiles turns his self-satisfied smirk to him.

‘Dude, seriously I feel really bad for the guy. You should put him out of his misery and just ask him out. Like right now. You like him and he obviously likes you so just ask him out.’

‘He’s right.’ Come’s a deep voice from behind them and Stiles yelps hitting his back on his open locker door.

It’s Boyd looking exasperated and a little bit angry, ‘Seriously Stiles the guys like a broken record. Just ask him out already or stop looking at him altogether. The kids beside himself.’

Stiles now feels like an asshole because if Boyd has to come in here and tell him to pull his shit together? Then Stiles is actually a grade A dick.

‘Yep, I mean yes, I will. Soon.’

‘Now. You’re going to do it now.’ Boyd says, his smile turning only slightly menacing.

‘Now.’ Stiles parrots, nodding his head definitively.

‘Good, he’s still out on the field getting out his uh frustrations. So you should do it now.’

‘Uh yep. On my way.’ Stiles says backing out of the locker room and out of Boyd’s shadow. The guy was just a little bit scary, even more so since he started wearing leather jackets, to court a particular lovely young blonde leather jacket enthusiast maybe? Stiles snorted as he made his way onto the field, Boyd needs to take some of his own advice and just ask Erica out already.

It’s raining slightly now and Stiles can just see Derek whipping balls into the net at the end of the field. He makes his way over until he’s within touching distance.

‘Hey.’ He says and Derek jumps a little before turning around. And yeah he looks really really good wet as opposed to Stiles who looks like a drowned rat.

Derek starts a little when he realises its Stiles, ‘Hey.’ He says, his lips thinned as his voice cautious which makes Stiles feel even shittier.

‘Good weather for practise.’ He says, lamely. Derek just grunts and whips another ball into the net and Stiles curses himself. Jesus Christ, how hard was it to ask someone out? He did it to Lydia almost every day in middle school. Why couldn’t he do it now?

‘Uh so I was wondering wh-‘

‘I know, ok.’ Derek says flatly, interrupting him before picking up another ball and throwing it into the nets.

‘Uh you know? Know what.’ Stiles asks, confused. This conversation wasn’t going the way he expected at all.

‘I know that you know.’ Derek says flatly, blank expression back.

‘That I know what?’ Jesus, what is with Derek being all cryptic?

‘I know that you know that I like you.’ Derek grits out, averting his eyes from Stiles as he whips another ball into the net.

‘Oh. Well in that case I was wondering wh-‘

‘Look I don’t want to OK? I don’t want your pity date.’ Derek says wiping the rain off his brow, his eyes firmly set on the horizon over Stiles’ left shoulder.

Stiles eyes widen, because like, what? ‘Uh dude, no pity date here. I seriously like, li-‘

Derek, suddenly angry, turns to him his face a horrible mixture of looked like anger and was that, grief?

‘Look I know what you think of me OK?’ He says quietly, ‘I know you don’t find me attractive and I know you’ve been making fun of me all week with your little friend Sam because you know I like you and you don’t like me. So just don’t pity date me OK? I don’t want a consolation prize just because you feel bad for me.’

‘It’s Scott.’ Stiles automatically corrects Derek in a weak voice before seeing the terrible look of sadness on Derek’s face and realising that he’s just possibly made the biggest stuff up of his life. He can’t even open his mouth to say anything else before Derek’s giving him a final sad vulnerable look before stomping off the field ignoring Stiles calling out to him.

****

Stiles doesn’t know who’s avoiding who but he doesn’t see Derek for a week and he gets constantly shouldered by his jockish friends in the corridors. 

Stiles doesn’t say anything. He deserves it. He knew he’d been an asshole. He knew he should have just asked Derek out when he’d found out, but no, he’d been a dick about it and now he was paying the price. 

And not only was he being treated liked shit but he felt like shit. He felt like he felt when Lydia rejected him but all rolled together in one horrible ball.

Scott tries to cheer him out by pointing out that he and Allison are going out now and that Erica and Boyd have finally got their shit together. But it only makes Stiles feel worse knowing that if he wasn’t such an asshole he could have what they are have; with hotter than the sun Derek Hale, who is avoiding him.

As it turns out Derek hasn’t actually been at school for the whole week as they get informed at Thursday lacrosse training and Stiles feels a little relief at that. It means that Derek hadn’t been purposely avoiding him at school and (probably) hadn’t sent his little jock minions to bash into Stiles every time they get the chance. 

And it’s confirmed by a very taut looking Boyd that Derek will be back on Monday when Stiles corners him in the lockers after practise. Because Stiles may be in love with Derek and he has no idea how to fix the shitstorm that he’s made.

‘Just tell him how you feel’ is all Scott’s advice is on the weekend and Stiles feels like throwing a pillow (read: brick) at his head because it’s not that simple when it’s someone who won’t listen to you or wont trust what you say when he does. 

Stiles is still fretting about it when he spies Derek across the cafeteria during lunch. But he does a Scott and squares his shoulders, steels his eyes and makes his way over to the ‘cool’ table for lack of better adjective to describe it.

Lydia is the first to spy him and she nudges Jackson who glares at him and throws a banana at Boyd who narrows his eyes at Stiles before what looks like kicking Derek in leg who scowls at Boyd before looking and finally catching Stiles’ eyes. Stiles sucks in a breath because Derek really did look like he had been sick, his eyes slightly sunken in and his skin wax white. 

Stiles slows as he gets to their table, all eyes on him. Including Derek’s haunted ones which make him feel like he’s just kicked a puppy.

But he squares his shoulders, ‘Derek, can I talk to you? In private?’

Derek looks at Boyd who has his arm around Erica and Boyd and Erica both nod at Derek.

Derek gets up and doesn’t look at Stiles before making his way to the empty corridor. 

Stiles follows like a lost duckling.

Derek turns to face him, that horrible blank look back on his face, ‘So’ Stiles starts, ‘Uh firstly I wanted to apologize for the way I acted when I knew you liked me because I was being an asshole and I know it doesn’t excuse me in any way shape or form but I did it because like no one’s ever had a crush on me, like ever. And you probably don’t know what it feels like but it kind of sucks. But to have you? Big man on campus Derek Hale like you? That’s just like whoa. OK?’

Derek’s eyeing him like an unexploded bomb but nods tersely and Stiles takes that as a hint to keep going.

‘And so I didn’t really like you, or know you really til like a month ago. So there’s that too. This is all a bit of a surprise to me and apparently I’ve been pretty dense about it all. But I uh did, start to like you that is, after that night and I wasn’t being an asshole when I was catching you looking at me, I genuinely did want to know whether you actually did like me or not.’

‘Stiles I’ve liked you for two years. How could you have not known that?’ Derek says quietly, looking Stiles right in the eyes. His face uncertain and Stiles just wanted to die.

‘As I said I’m dense OK? And you were dating Kate fucking Argent so how the hell was I supposed to know OK?’

They distantly hear the bell go and the rumble of students heading for their lockers as people start to stream into the corridor.

‘And when you were asking me last week? It wasn’t a pity date?’

Oh god Derek still didn’t believe Stiles liked him and Stiles frantically wracked his mind to somehow convince him. Scott’s voice floated into his consciousness, ‘Tell him how you feel.’

The corridor was almost full of students now and Stiles took a deep breath, ‘Derek, I really really like you OK? I think you’re-perfec t-and-you-make-me-feel –alive’

The last part comes out in a rush and mumbled and over the din of students moving to class Derek squints at Stiles before mouthing ‘what?’ at him.

It’s now or never Stiles says to himself as he takes a breath, because Derek is so worth it, and shouts over the sounds of the corridor ‘I SAID I REALLY REALLY LIKE DEREK AND I THINK YOU’RE PERFECT AND YOU MAKE ME FEEL ALIVE!’

For the second time in two weeks the corridor of students hush and turn towards him and Derek; some laughing, others in slight awe but Stiles doesn’t look at them because he’s looking at the ground, hoping it will swallow him up into the bowels of hell.

It’s still silent when he hears footsteps and Derek’s shoes come into his vision.

‘Hey’ Derek whispers putting a hand under Stiles chin and angling it up until he’s looking into Derek’s endearingly hopeful face, ‘Do you really mean that?’ he asks.

Stiles chokes out a laugh, ‘Would I have just embarrassed myself in front of the whole entire school with an empty romantic gesture of my undying love if I didn’t mean it?’

Derek’s breath hitches when Stiles says the word love and Stiles’ questions are swallowed up when Derek leans down and kisses him, chastely on the lips.

Stiles barely hears the faint cheers and whoops in the background along with a few muttered ‘finally’s’ from Derek’s friends but he ignores it all because Derek Hale is kissing him and its possibly the hottest, best, most awesome thing that’s ever happened to him in his whole entire life.

He barely stifles a whimper when Derek pulls back, his face smiling like the sun and Stiles feels completely sucked into its orbit.

‘To set the record straight, I think you’re perfect too and you make me feel like completely, blissfully alive and have done since I set eyes on you.’

‘Oh my god. Really?’ Stiles breathes because Derek has a hand around his waist and it’s hard to concentrate on two things at once when that is happening.

‘Yeah, you were so clever and brave. No one ever mouthed off to my friends or called them on their bullshit before you. And you are possibly the hottest guy I have ever seen, plus you pissed Kate off no end which was always amusing.’ Derek says into Stiles mouth.

‘Yeah what’s the deal with her?’

Derek looks sheepish all of a sudden, ‘Well after half a year of pining my friends told me I needed to move on and Kate was just there. And I knew she didn’t actually like me, she just liked my popularity so she was safe. I could pretend to be in a relationship without being hit on and having to turn people down because the boy I liked was kind of thick.’

‘Hey.’ Stile says in mock offense, before asking ‘So why did you break up with her?’

‘Well it was partly you. I finally gotten the chance to speak with you and I just thought I might have had a chance? Plus Kate had gotten increasingly possessive and it was wearing me down. So I just did it and then you broke my heart and now here we are.’

Stiles blushes, ‘Oh god, I am so sorry about that Derek. So fucking sorry. I can’t believe you’ve forgiven me’

Derek laughs, ‘I know you’re sorry. Plus there’s not a lot I wouldn’t do for you Stiles Stilinski.’ He says looking Stiles in the eye and Stiles practically melts into a puddle on the floor because under all that name forgetting gruffness and creeper staring is a complete softy that Stiles is most definitely in love with.

**Author's Note:**

> How cute is that 'perfect' line! And dammit its not mine, it was something i remembered from a totally cute tumblr post so if anyone finds it let me know and i'll credit it :)
> 
> As always credits and kudos are welcomed, appreciated, loved, cooed over completely (and i'll make sure i get back to everyone who reviews!)


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